Greenland Approves a Defense Pact With the U.S. and Denmark
Greenland's parliament approved a defense agreement that lets the United States expand its military presence on the island while keeping it under Danish sovereignty, leaving only Denmark's parliament to act.
Mount Dundas above the snow at Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland, April 2026.Illustration by The Good Times, based on a U.S. Space Force photo by Ryan Quijas (public domain)
Greenland's parliament voted 16 to 0, with seven lawmakers abstaining, to approve the defense agreement the island signed with Denmark and the United States. The deal lets the U.S. modernize and expand its activities at Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland and set up a new defense area at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, with the technical details still to be agreed. It reaffirms the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark and recognizes Greenlanders' right to self-determination. President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed the agreement in September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, after months in which Trump pressed for control of the island. Denmark's parliament is expected to finish its approval later this month. The agreement takes effect once the United States is formally told that both parliaments have approved it. The U.S. Senate does not need to vote, because Washington is treating the deal as an executive agreement.
The opposition party Naleraq abstained. During the debate it criticized what the agreement delivers for Greenland and called for more openness about its contents and consequences.
The agreement amends and supplements a 1951 defense pact between the United States and Denmark. It also allows the U.S. to set up more defense areas in Greenland and makes room for Trump's planned Golden Dome missile defense system. Its terms would still apply if Greenland later chose independence.